Wars of the Irish Kings (17 page)
Read Wars of the Irish Kings Online
Authors: David W. McCullough
Viking ship
Cellachain of Cashel was king of Munster from about 940 to the middle of the 950s (the dates are not specific), and although the dramatic battle with the Vikings that ends this account did not actually take place, the explicit details of his election as king, the land battles in which one side is protected by armor and the other is not, and the climactic sea battle of Dundalk are realistic twelfth-century re-creations.
The account is also a lively example of a kind of political propaganda that was popular in Ireland in the twelfth century.
The Battles of Cellachain of Cashel (Cathereim Cellachain Chaisil)
was probably written around 1130 to enhance the reputation of descendants of men mentioned as heroes of the battle to rescue Cellachain from the Vikings. The usual way of doing this was to take a real battle and people it with ancestors who were not actually there. In this case, an entire historical event was created. Cellachain may never have been tied to the mast of a Viking ship, but the adventure tale is an effective example of how the medieval Irish thought their ancestors struggled with the Scandinavian invaders. It also begins with a rare and accurate description of the investure of an Irish king.
As a work of political propaganda, however, its most important sentence is a seemingly innocuous comment of Cellachain’s as a captive. He gives “my benediction to the Dal Cais, as a reward because they have come to my help.” The king of the Dal Cais was then Cinneide, father of Brian Boru. This work was translated by Alexander Bugge.
THEN AROSE THE SEVENTEEN TRIBES
of the clan Eogan, right readily in order to make Cellachan king of Munster. And they set up his
gairm rig
[i.e. they proclaimed him king] and gave thanks to the true, magnificent God for having found him. The following were the best of those chieftains. The slender, valiant Suilleban before the festive race of Fingin, and the sportive Ribordan before the valorous children of Donngal, and the fierce Caellaidi, and the heroic soldier Laindacan, and the bold Duinechad, and the brave Cuilen, and the battlesome Eigertach, and Ligan of daring
deeds. These nobles came to Cellachan and put their hands in his hand and placed the royal diadem round his head, and their spirits were raised at the grand sight of him. For he was a king for great stature, and a brehon [judge] for eloquence, and a learned saga-man for knowledge, and a lion for daring deeds.
Cellachan addressed the clan Eogan and told them to make valiant war with him, and they said they would do it. And they said that they would advance, ten hundred men in number, to [Viking-held] Limerick to burn it. And when they arrived, they sent word to the heroic [Viking] Amlaib to tell them to quickly leave Limerick or to give hostages to them.
When the messengers came to the heroes of Limerick, the Vikings began to deride them, and this is what they expected. And they said that they would give battle.
When the clan Eogan heard this, Suilleban of the noble hosts addressed them, and told them to fight a brave and hardy battle against the Lochlannachs [the Vikings] and valiantly to guard their king in this onslought. And he said to the nobles of the Eoganachts: “Let not the clan of Cormac Cas hear of (any) conditions in your deliberations, let not clan Echach hear of weakness in your princes, but proceed together to the battle, and give your first battle valiantly in defence of your own country against the Danes. If there be defeat and rout of battle before you upon the heroes, it will be all the better for yourselves, and for your prosperity, and your positions. Limerick will be in your hand, and Cashel in your succession, and Munster will be in the possession of your nobles, if yours is the victory in this battle today ….”
Then towards the battle arose the descendants of Eogan fiercely, prudently, bravely around their gentle king, around Cellachan. And there was arrayed bravely the heroes ever beautiful, very strong, surrounded by standards, and a solid, very thick palisade of spears, and a strong, princely-ensigned tower of chiefs, and a skilful phalanx of blue blades, and a handsome, strong enclosure of linen cloth around the heroes. For the heroes had neither blue helmets nor shining coats of mail, but only elegant tunics with smooth fringes, and shields, and beautiful, finely wrought collars to protect bodies, and necks, and gentle heads.
Then there was arrayed by the heroes of Lochlann a solid, skilful and firm rampart of strong coats of mail, and a thick, dark stronghold of black iron, and a green-polished, hard-sharp city of battleshields, and a strong enclosure of stout shafts around the heroic Amlaib, and around Lochlann, and Morann, and Magnus. For these were the four battle-heroes of the Lochlann champions, and four hundred accompanied each hero of them.
Then the valorous descendants of Eogan placed themselves at the
upper end of the plain in high spirits around their gentle king Cellachan, and they put the hooks of their shields over each another, and they made “champion-knots” by attaching their broad belts to each other, and they arrayed the seventeen brave men who were the most noble of the high lords around their royal prince to protect him well. Great spirit arose in their king, and anger in their champions, and courage in their soldiers, and fury in their heroes, and valour in their gallant men and fierceness in their youths.
However, when their youths, their champions and their proud, haughty folk came to the front of the battle to throw their stones and slender arrows and pointed spears from each side of the heroes, the ground of the plain was left to the soldiers, and the battle-field to the heroes, and the place of slaughter to the veterans. And when the noble warriors of Lochlann and the soldiers of Munster arrived at the place of defence they began to smite their battle-clubs heroically and to strike their swords on each another. However this full encounter was one-sided. For the bodies and skins and hearts of the bright champions of Munster were quickly pierced through the fine linen garments, and their very sharp blades did not take any effect upon the Lochlannachs because of the rough solidity of their blue coats of mail, and their clubs did not maim the heroes, and the swords did not lacerate the heads because of the hardness of the helmets that protected them, and the Lochlannachs made a great havock among the Munstermen during a part of that day.
However when Cellachan perceived that the soldiers were being slain, and that the heroes were being wounded, and that the champions were being maimed, and that Clan Eogan was being slaughtered, then arose his wrath, his rage, and his vigour, and he makes a royal rush, caused by fits of mighty passion, at the nobles of the Lochlannachs, while the noble descendants of the race of Eogan protect him. Cellachan reached the warlike Amlaib and made an attack on the rough mail-coat of the warrior, so that he loosened his helmet under his neck, and split his head with his hard strokes, so that the Lochlannach fell by him.
Then Suilleban with his 150 brave, valiant swordsmen arrived to his defence, and he made a breach of savage ferocity through the centre of the heroic batallion of the Lochlannachs. Then arose the unviolated pillar, and the unsubdued hero, and the lion unconquered until that day, namely the long-haired, high spirited Morann of the fierce people, i.e. the son of the fleet-king of Lewis, with 150 heroes who arose with him. And when the chiefs had met, they smote each another fiercely, like true foes, and with hard strength. Suilleban however planted his spear through the boss of the buckler and beneath the rim of the helmet into the hero, so that it passed
quickly into the hero’s neck, and placed the head in the power of the battle-soldier. And he beheaded the brave man and brought the head with him to Cellachan to boast of his triumph. And the people of the Lochlannach fell in that fight.
Then Donnchad and brave Magnus met together in the battle. They struck off the points of their broad-grooved swords, and battered their shields into pieces with their full-heavy clubs, and wounded their bodies with their javelins. Magnus however fell by great Donnchad.
Then Lochlann and Ribordan engaged in battle before Cellachan, and Lochlann inflicted very sharp, terrible wounds on Ribordan. When the hero was wounded, and the champion pierced through, and when he perceived that his arms took no effect upon the veteran who was before him, Ribordan made a heroic rush upon Lochlann, and left his sword, and his longbladed spear, and he put in mind his sharp iron-blue mail-coat and laid dexterously hold of the lower part of the cuirass of the Lochlannach with his left hand, and gave the champion a sudden pull, so that he maimed the broad bosom of the hero, and that his bowels and entrails fell out of him. And he beheaded the champion and lifted his head in triumph. Nevertheless there fell these four valiant champions of the Lochlann heroes, and the (other) heroes left their places, and the soldiers were overthrown and made for Limerick to shut themselves quickly up there. And it was through the rear of the Lochlannachs that the nobles of Munster went into the town, so that the Lochlannachs were not able to close the gates, and the champions were killed in the houses and in the towers. They brought their wifes, and children, and people in captivity to the nobles of Munster, and collected the gold, silver and various riches of the town, and brought the heads, trophies, and battle-spoils of the heroes to Cellachan, and the heads of the four who were the most noble of the Lochlannachs were exhibited to him ….
Thereupon the heroes collected the spoils, and some of them said that they should stay that night in the town and proceed the next morning to Cashel. Suilleban said to the hosts that they should go that very night to Cork, the place where their hostages and captives were, so that no news or messengers might get there before them. The champions decided on this plan and they came to Cork that night. The Danes and Black Gentiles of the town came out against them to fight with them. The battle was gained on the Danish Black Gentiles, and the town was wrecked by the champions, and they brought away with them their hostages from the captivity in which they were. The men of Munster were that night in Cork consuming their banquets and provisions, and they stayed three days in the city and then made up their mind to proceed to Cashel ….
The battle was fought by Donnchad, and it was gained over the Danes, and 300 were slain there by them. They were that night in Cashel, and consumed the feasts and prepared food of the Danes and Dark-Lochlannachs. The next morning they made up their mind, namely to proceed to Port Lairge [Waterford], the place where the women and families of the Lochlannachs were, and to burn the town. And they proceed to the green of Port Lairge. But on the same day Sitric son of [the Viking chief] Turgeis arrived at Port Lairge with a division of six ships and a hundred on each ship of them. But they had not reached the land when the van of the host of Munster arrived at the city. The Danes closed the gates and began to defend the town. However, it was useless for them to engage in combat with the champions; for Cellachan, and gentle Donnchad, and Suilleban, and Ribordan, and the quick, valiant soldiers of Munster leapt into the town. And the Danes were slaughtered in crowds by them, and the Norsemen were cut into pieces. Sitric left the town and went on board his ship, and his wife with him. And only one hundred fugitives of them reached their ships. The race of Eogan burned the town and plundered the district.
[Cellachan and Donnchann, the son of Connetig, are captured by the Danes—not in battle but through trickery—and the men of Munster set off to rescue them. After taking back the Viking-held city of Armagh, they learn that the king and his champion are imprisoned aboard ships at Dundalk, a port north of Dublin.]
They [the men of Munster] went forward in arranged battallions to Dundalk. But the Lochlannachs went away from them in their ships, and they themselves went to the seashore. And the ship that was next to them was the ship of Sitric son of Turgeis, and it was in that ship that Cellachan was. Donnchadh [who should not be confused with Donnchann, the son of Connetig] asked them if they might get Cellachan for a ransom. Sitric pledged his word that he should never be given up, unless they brought back to him all who were slain in the fifteen battles which Cellachan had fought, and all who were slain in the battle of Armagh. When Donnchadh heard this he began to reproach them, and he said that they had not captured Cellachan in battle or open fight, but by lying and open perjury. And he said that after this he would not trust any oath of the Norse. “Give honour to Cellachan in the presence of the men of Munster!” said Sitric, “let him even be bound to the mast! For he shall not be without pain in honour of them.” Thus it was done. “The women of Munster will lament this,” said Donnchadh, “and your own wife will lament it, O Sitric. And there is not among you a man to carry out that cruelty but has been spared by
his
sword and
his
fight ….” [Donnchann, was likewise tied up in the
ship of the son of the king of Fuarlochlann.]
